The Horizon
by Lennox-Dive
Summary: Everyone needs a reason to exist. It's the most simplistic, basic need of humanity. Naruto had given Sasuke his reason to return to Konoha after the war. Neither anticipated that through this, Naruto would find his own to leave. [SasuNaru, suggested SasuSaku. Current with manga post 636.]


**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto. Believe it.

**Rating:** M. This story will contain character death(s), and possibly even a lemon or two. I hope you all noted this story is in the genre of Tragedy/Romance, but it is heavily dotted with Suspense and Supernatural aspects as well.

**A/N:** None for this prologue. Sorry it's short - the next chapter, which will be posted later tonight - is going to be over twenty pages long. This little section here just wasn't blending right with the rest of it, so I decided to set it apart as a mini introduction.

**Main Pairings:** SasuNaru, one-sided SasuSaku.

Please anticipate that while I don't intend to make Naruto godly, he may appear so at various points. It's only temporary though – even if, you have to admit, that Naruto is nearing that point anyways in the manga for those of you who are current with it like I am!

-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-

_Prologue:_

_Reason_

If I had been born a second,  
A day,  
A week,  
A month later,  
Would it have made any difference?

-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-

It was beautiful.

The whole world was full of golden light, like someone had set fire to the sky, and bits and pieces were cascading down to the earth in rushing waves; when they finally collided, fireworks of amber washed into the ground, rivers, and the dead bodies littering the floor. Their blood painted the grass and river red.

During that moment - just after the war had culminated - the shinobi scattered along the Valley of the End forgot what had transpired.

They forgot the blood.

They forgot their pains.

They forgot their petty indifferences.

The sun was setting on the horizon, and as wondrous a sight as this was, no eyes turned away from the solitary figure standing near the edge of the valley's head. A rushing waterfall sundered over the cliff, snug between the infamous Hashirama and Madara monuments; despite the chaos that had ensued between their army and Madara's, the two statues had been spared any damage.

Ironic, one might have thought, but no such thing crossed anyone -

For Naruto Uzumaki, the Ten-Tail's Jinchuriki, had enraptured _everyone_. The male was standing in the centerfold of the current, just before the water cascaded down below into the lake - but where one would've likely been taken by the lashing waves, he did not struggle. His stance was firm. If someone had been able to take a long look from the front however, they would've seen his hands and arms shaking. _The quiver in his legs_.

The _blood _trailing down his chest, his right shoulder, and either corner of his lips.

Blood that was not only his own, but Sasuke's.

The male in his arms looked fragile. Not quite broken, but damaged – possibly irreparably so. Blood matted Sasuke's head, and Naruto knew alone that if he'd lifted him out of the water entirely, rivets of blood would drip down his body like beads of water. Their fight had just ended, but for Naruto he couldn't help but feel it'd only just begun.

The Uchiha's eyes were shut, head tilted back while Naruto had one arm wrapped around his back, the other curled protectively along his hips and waist. Even though the rushing water was frigid – _distantly, he remembered that winter had just struck a week ago_ – Sasuke's body still felt warm against his clammy chest.

It was the only reason Naruto was sure he was _alive_, even.

"Naruto?" He heard this person's voice as if it were an echo. So startled was he by the call of his name, Naruto jumped, teeth chattering in his mouth. To the left, standing atop the water, was his former sensei. Kakashi was still wounded from his collision with Obito, but he appeared better than Naruto had seen him in a long, long time.

"Come on," Kakashi smiled at him beneath his mask, hand reaching out. "We don't have much time. Tsunade-sama said we must hurry."

"Everyone's waiting, Naruto." Another voice. Naruto tilted his head back further numbly, and spotted Sakura. She was a few feet back, smiling anxiously. But her eyes were not fixed on him, though, as he'd suspected and feared they wouldn't be. She only ever had eyes for one person, no matter how many times he'd claimed he _hated_ her, how _useless_ she was, or tried to _kill_ her.

_Sasuke_.

The water needling his back and legs felt like shards of ice suddenly.

It was over.

_Everything_ was over. The war. Madara. The Akatsuki.

Naruto looked back down towards the raven in his arms. He looked peaceful, lying in his arms unconscious. From his position alone he could see the small smile on Sasuke's pale face; he felt possessive of this – _possessive_ in that he didn't want anyone else to see it; to marvel in the rare show of softness, subconscious or not.

"_Give me a reason why. Why should I return to Konoha? I saved it; I saved it like my brother wanted!"_

"_Because…" The jolt of Sasuke's chidori burned through his jacket. "Because I need you there, Sasuke!"_

"_That's not good enough." Sasuke roared at him. Naruto felt the desperation on Sasuke's face more than he saw it – it confused him. It made his __**own**__ ten times worse._

"_Because," Naruto went numb as he swung his right, open-palmed hand, aiming for the raven's chest. The rasengan cut through Sasuke's shirt like paper. It drove deeper, nipping almost playfully at the Uchiha's chest._

"_Because I love you!" The words wrenched past Naruto's lips, heart-felt and torn. He clenched his eyes shut, feeling Sasuke's chidori rip deeper into his chest. Jolts shook him. The crackling of a thousand tiny birds deafened him. The pain numbed him._

_And then it stopped. _

_His heart pounded and his legs shook, mind accepting that death might be upon him – but when it did not come, Naruto exhaled sharply and suddenly._

_He reopened his eyes._

_Sasuke stood before him. His expression was shocked, lips parted with unspoken words hanging on their tips. His black eyes didn't quite seem so dark anymore – they were wide and open, giving him a glimmer of insight to the wrecking emotions in their depths._

"_N-Naruto…" Blood sprouted from the corner of his lips, dripping down to his throat. It was then Naruto noticed with a startled cry that a blossom of red had sprouted along Sasuke's chest. His shirt had been torn away by the rasengan, and the lashing, angry winds had scissored into his chest. _

"_Sasuke!"_

_Sasuke fell forward, knees and legs sinking into the rabid waves. Naruto lunged forward, arms encircling around him tightly, pulling him up as much as he could. The Uchiha's body bobbed in his arms against the current, head falling back. A fan of pitch-black hair dampened with the spray of water, furling around his face and neck – and there it was, on his face as clear as day._

_A smile._

_Naruto choked back a sob at the sight. Whatever Sasuke had wanted to say he might not have been able to, but…_

_He was smiling. Smiling for __**him**__._

-;-;-;-;- End -;-;-;-;-

This is the shortest thing I've ever written. But, alas, I was going to tag this along with the first chapter, but every time I kept reading it I was just… It just didn't fit. The emotional brunt of this first part didn't mesh well with the subtle calmness of the next.

I hope you all enjoyed it. For those of you who read this directly after I posted it, I will be uploading the first real – and several thousands more words – chapter one in a few hours. I typically write over twenty pages a chapter, so this feels awkward as a stand-alone prologue.

Read and review!

Lennoxdive.


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